CHAPTER 16
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Emmerdale or it's characters, they belong to ITV
A/N: Thanks for all the kind reviews...hope everyone is still enjoying the story...I am aiming for a happy ending if anyone is worried...it just get's worse, before it gets better... but it wouldn't be an aarson story otherwise! xx
Aaron ate his toast, the breakfast table was a hub of deathly silence, just the crunching of crispy toast and the slurping of lukewarm tea.
Paddy looked up at Aaron, the poor lad had been quiet since he came out of hospital Sunday afternoon.
It was now Tuesday, and Aaron hadn't been anywhere near the garage for work, a text message chimed broke the silence.
Aaron pulled out his phone, and read the message, his heart raced as he thought about it's sender:
hey you! text me back will yah...gone off me already have yah :-) text me please i miss yah :-(
love J xx
Aaron bit his lip, and then deleted the message, he just couldn't reply to it, nor to the other 2 he had received the day before.
scraping his chair back, Aaron went and chucked his breakfast things into the sink, Paddy looked up,
" are you not going into work again today..." Paddy asked.
Aaron shot him a death stare " leave it Paddy!" he then disappeared up the stairs to his room, leaving Paddy fretting over Aaron's mental state since the incident.
Aaron laid upon his bed, and Ben came into his mind again, Ben... the nice guy who at chatted him up and made his life happy for a while.
Ben...the guy with the magic smile, and grazy good looks...Ben the guy who could just change and become...someone who can...who can do...who was capable of doing...that to him...
Aaron had told no one about him remembering it was Ben, who had spiked his drink that night...everyone else just believed it was some random guy, who had tried to hit on him...but Aaron knew...he knew...and he craved for revenge.
That afternoon, Aaron walked toward the bus stop, he pulled up his hood over his shaven head, but that wasn't good enough to hide himself from folk he wanted to avoid.
"OI!" it was Cain's yell, Aaron paused on main street as Cain came hurrying up to him, in his greasy overalls, " So...you are too sick to work eh...but okay enough to go swanning off somewhere..."
Aaron turned " leave it Cain..."
Cain grabbed him, stopping him from storming off " No you leave it...look I know what happened to yah...your mum told me..."
Aaron rolled his eyes, " great...she never could keep her trap shut her!" he grated.
Cain sighed, " look...I can't even imagine...don't want to imagine...look it's gonna be okay!"
Aaron stared, boring his gaze in to his uncle, " No...it's not okay...it will never be okay now!...feeling helpless...so weak, that somebody could..."
Cain backed off, he hated dealing with all this emotion, it wasn't him " Look...just try and get yourself sorted...and I'll see if I can get your car sorted this week eh...could come back and help me if you want..."
Aaron stared toward his trashed car at the garage, and then justed carried on to the bus stop, " take that as a no then..." breathed Cain..he felt really bad for his nephew, what he's been through...Aaron hated feeling weak...he just couldn't say the right stuff...maybe tomorrow he'll try again.
Aaron had taken the bus into town, and once there, he had immediatley stormed over to Ben's flat in the high street.
Aaron had pressed the buzzer repeatedly with anger boiling up from within him, but there was no answer.
Aaron pulled out his mobile, and made a call to Ben, but Ben's phone was switched to voice mail.
Aaron punched at the door in sheer frustration, then stormed off, he decided to stake out Bar west, surely Ben would turn up there sooner or later.
For over two hours, Aaron sat on a bench opposite Bar West, staring, on look out, never keeping his eyes off the place until his prize came forth, but he never did.
When full darkness took hold, Aaron gave up, there would be other nights, Ben would have to show up sooner or later. Just as he stood someone did catch his eye, Tom he was on the street opposite, heading for Bar West.
Aaron immediately called out " Tom!...Tom wait will yah..."
Tom turned around to see Aaron hurrying across the road toward him...Tom knew what this was going to be about..." Hey...look...do you want to talk inside..."
Aaron looked up to Bar West, the place he had been drugged, the place Ben had started some grazy plot to...to... " No...I can't go in there... I just can't...somewhere else...I need to talk to you"
Tom nodded, " Hey...it's okay...there a quieter place around the corner anyhow, you know, the crap place where their ale always tastes flat!"
Aaron nodded in agreement, digging his hands into his hoodie pockets " Alright then...lets go..." Tom lead the way.
"...and so...I haven't seen him since that...you know..." Told Tom, finishing a sip from his rank pint, in the quiet bar they had entered 10 minutes previous.
Aaron rolled his beer glass around between his thumbs, and looked up to Tom, who had finished his story of how he had stopped Ben getting him into the cab.
" thanks...thanks I mean it...you saved me from being..." started Aaron, struggling to get the words out.
Tom shook his head, " don't...it's too much to thank me...Ben's supposed to be my best mate...I feel responsible..."
Aaron shook his own head, " nah...you're not, there's a big difference, you are not a scumbag like him!"
Tom turned, finishing his awful pint " He's done some pretty nasty things in his time...but there are limits...and I thought last time was OTT!"
Aaron snapped up " what last time...Tom...", Tom turned to face Aaron,
" It...it was Ben...who trashed your car mate...I'm sorry..."
The anger boiled up in Aaron's veins, his fists clenched, " I just wanna...I just wanna get him...and..."
Tom quickly leaned forward, " don't be like him Aaron...don't even lower yourself to his standards..."
Aaron calmed himself down, revenge was a dish best served up cold anyhow , he looked up to Tom " why do you do it...why do you put up with him...he's always putting you down...to be honest, I used to find it amusing to watch...but...he's always doing it..."
Tom shook his head, " Me and Ben...have a history...it's a long, long story...look..." he faced Aaron directly, " ...there's something you need to know...and now Ben's seemed to have gone AWOL...it's gonna be up to me to tell yah..."
Aaron finally finished the dregs of his awful beer, " tell me what..." he asked.
Tom swallowed nervously, and looked up " Ben...Ben was sorta seeing someone else...when he was with you..." he began.
Aaron sighed, and slapped a hand on his forehead " Now you telling me he's a cheating scumbag...tell you what, if he calls you braindead, what does that make me..."
"look...all I know is...his name is Lee...I never met him...but he sounded like a piece of work himself..." told Tom.
Aaron's heart raced again, so Ben was a lying cheating ar*ehole, what other big surprizes were going to come crawling out the wood work now...
"...Aaron...Ben went for a check up at the hospital..." Tom began cautiously.
Aaron smirked, first time in nearly 3 days, " something serious I hope!"
Tom nodded " No...Aaron listen...it was at the sexual health clinic he went to...he thinks this Lee has given him something, he had heard a rumour about him...on the gay scene like..."
Aaron's face dropped, " W...what...Tom..." he was becoming worked up and anxious " what's he got Tom..."
Tom shook his head, " I don't know...he never finished the conversation...but I am saying...recommending like...is you need to get yourself checked out mate..." he said sadly.
Aaron couldn't believe all this...he couldn't take it all in...he had trusted Ben...he had let the guy into his home...introduced him to Paddy and his mum...and his friends in the village...
...and now he might have an infection...spiking his drink was bad enough to think about...
...but to be told this...after that night he thought his nightmare was over...
Aaron was harrowingly realising...starting to have a dread feeling...that his nightmare was actually...only just beginning..!
TBC
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